 Some of us were there, and I believe something broke in the heavenlies that weekend. My wife, Janet, had heard a word from the Lord (she believes) during the year previous to Waitangi 2017 and it was, "One Flame, two eighteen (2018)", and just recently we have seen a mainly Maori men’s movement spread throughout the North Island and even across to Aussie and Tonga called 'Man Up' – a brotherhood of men who have come out of gangs, addictions and domestic violence to be able to testify to the changing power of Jesus Christ.  A sister movement for women called 'Legacy' is also now up and running. Both groups are running 15-week courses where they support men or women to break free from a destructive lifestyle.
In May, 2017, I heard David Dishroon, who co-pastors Change Point Church in Tauranga, speaking at the Northland Leaders meeting in Moerewa on grace and truth, building the Kingdom rather than his own church. Right at the end, he related an incident where the Holy Spirit interrupted his thought patterns. He had been at a YWAM induction service in Tauranga when the son of a VERY prominent kaumatua, Monte Ohia, was speaking. (Hear the full 33 min message here).
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 Image credit: Cranston Fine Arts In the 2nd World War, my father was a navigator on Stirling Bombers under the Royal Air Force and his squadron made many raids over Germany - including to bomb Peenemunde - to disrupt German secret weapon development of the V1 and V2 rockets which the Germans were sending over to destroy London.
The German anti-aircraft guns shot up flak to bring the bombers down and the planes were hit often and damaged. So they had to limp home to Britain and often crashed on the runways, or even the beaches. My father’s crew crashed ten of these giant 4-engined British bombers. One crash was particularly spectacular. As they limped back one night to their aerodrome, two engines cut out. Now you can land a Stirling bomber on three engines, but not two. The plane nosedived, hit the tarmac at 95mph, bounced on the 12 foot high tyres, slid along the tarmac and went right through a hangar – in one door and out the other without knocking (losing the wings and tail). The fuselage careered on until a broken down crane with chains and ropes dangling caught the remains of the plane and stopped it 25 yards form a bomb dumb… where bombs were stored! Learn more by listening to the podcast here
The apostle Paul gives us the gist of it all in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 (NLT):
Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the good news I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this good news that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, He was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles. Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him. For more on the proofs of the resurrection, check out this podcast  While many in the world are in lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic, one can understand that fear, anxiety and depression will be rampant. But here is some good news. You can have freedom from fear.
Many years ago, I was a laidback surfer, ex-dope smoker, very laisse faire, Que será, será, whatever will be, will be….. not known to be a worrier. So have I ever been anxious or fearful? I can think of a couple of times at least. When I was 20-years-old, I sailed to Australia (from Whangarei, NZ) in the 32 foot sloop yacht, the Orbiter, with two other friends. At dusk on the first or second night we aimed to shelter behind one of the Three King Islands. On the charts it showed a narrow channel, the cliffs on one side and a pinnacle rock on the other… would we make it? I had some fear then. In fact, I took up smoking for the first time (silly me) which lead to a 10-year addiction before I was sovereignly delivered from the filthy habit. Another time, I was outside Caltex House behind Fanshaw Street in Auckland, parked in a car smoking a joint with business partner, as you do. I saw a cop car cruise by. I dashed up to Radio Hauraki on the 4th floor, threw the dope down the toilet, thinking the cops were on to us! A little bit of paranoia/anxiety? Well, anxiety IS a big problem in society today. Check out what the Bible says about finding freedom from fear and anxiety in this podcast, put these keys into practice in your life, and overcome fear and anxiety once and for all.  I have already posted the full blog from one of my favourite teachers (from Canada), Terry Somerville on Facebook last week: Check out his video here: This is a Holy Moment – Don’t Waste it
As always, I really like what he has to say. Here’s a summary: “Dear Friends In the middle of this world wide crisis there is a totally holy thing that God is doing. This is a Holy Moment and we must not waste it.
Everyone has heaps of questions about what is behind the Covid19 so called pandemic and conspiracy theorists are having a ball. Nevertheless, it does pay to seek God and ask Him what He is saying at this time, and what He might require of each one of us. The following three podcasts might help you get a balanced overall perspective of what is happening now and what will happen future:
If you don’t know what God’s word says about the current crisis and what will happen up ahead, how can you share hope with your family and friends? Jesus said: “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” Matthew 16: 2-3 NLT.
“We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work”. John 9:4 Here is a prayer the Lord told me to pray when I first asked Him how He wanted me to pray in regard to the Corona Virus. I believe I heard Him say: “Bind the virus in the name of Jesus and break its power and hold over you and ALL your family. Bind the spirit of fear over your nation and repent for the sins of the people”. Janet and I take communion every morning and pray for our family… now we add this prayer. Be blessed and safe, under the precious blood of Jesus. Ray
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Fear (Eugene H. Merrill)
While the normal meaning of fear as dread or terror is retained in the theological use of the terms, a special nuance of reverential awe or worshipful respect becomes the dominant notion….. Usually, however, the fear of the Lord is an inducement to obedience and service:to fear God is to do his will…. To fear God is to know Him and to know Him is to fear him. Such healthy fear enables one to praise God; to enjoy benefits and blessings at his hand; to rest in peace and security and to experience length of days But fear of God also produces fear of wrath and judgment in those who do not know him or who refuse to serve him. So what, you may ask, does the fear of the Lord mean? I like some thoughts JoHanna Reardon says in her blog on Christianity Today: What does it mean to fear God? JoHannah Reardon She says I often hear people explain the fear of the Lord as a mere respect or reverence. But the Bible uses the word fear at least 300 times in reference to God, so we make a mistake when we downplay it. Scripture is full of examples of how fearing God is a positive rather than a negative thing… And lest you think this is only an Old Testament idea, note that Jesus states this stronger than anyone when he says: Matthew 10:28: "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell". Hear the full podcast message here
Michael Snyder says on his website, themostimportantnews.com: "If you want to greatly anger any man, just go after his home and his family. This will be true in just about any culture all across the globe."
Similarly, when the rest of the world attempts to divide the land of Israel and hurt the Jewish people, they are going after the family that Jesus was born into and the city where He will rule and reign for 1000 years after He comes back. When Jesus was being crucified, Roman soldiers divided up his clothing, and that was a deeply disgraceful thing to do. But now just before Jesus returns, the entire globe is trying to divide up His land and divide up the one city on the entire planet that He has identified as His city. Matthew 5:34-35 (NKJV) says: But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. So join me now, and listen to the podcast, God’s Plans and Purposes for Israel Ray.
The second title in this series was The Miracle of Israel and the Coming Millennium, where I shared about God restoring the Jews to their land (when Israel became a nation in 1948 after almost 2000 years). Then I shared about the 1000 years that Jesus will reign from Jerusalem after Jesus returns.
Between the first pangs that Jesus talks about, ie wars, earthquakes and famines, there is a period called the great tribulation and then before the millennium period we will see the glorious return of Christ. So in Part 3, today, The Second Coming of Jesus, I will be a little more specific on what happens prior to His return. Have a listen to the podcast here. Signs of the End Times series: Part 1: The Coming Convergence Part 2: The Miracle of Israel and the Coming Millennium Today we are going to examine two events,
My questions are, "Will the prophesied final generation today make the same mistake? Is the church in 2020 asleep or awake to what is predicted to happen in the end times...and even more relevant...are we in the end times now?"
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AuthorRay Curle, truth bringer and watchman. From pirate radio to campaign manager for the late evangelist Bill Subritzky, Ray is now running Wild Side Ministries (evangelism with a prophetic edge), Archives
May 2020
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